1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to stages, scenery, curtains, back-drops and decor for theatre productions, particularly for children's theatre productions of fairy-tales and the like, but also for use in a teaching and educational process.
2. Background Art
State-mandated learning standards, at all grade levels, are being established in core subject areas to set clear performance objectives for student achievement. Measuring student progress against these standards is becoming a priority for school districts around the nation.
Educators, researchers and students agree that the most powerful type of learning takes place when multiple senses, not only seeing or hearing but also saying and doing, are involved. A growing body of research is finding that the development of higher thinking order skills, such as critical and creative thinking, is measurably enhanced when lessons are delivered through the arts. Albert Einstein reported decades ago that playing the violin stimulated his ability to construct complex mathematical theories, bolstering the recent findings of research.
Previously, plays and fairy-tales were performed for children, the scenery, with curtains and back-drops, being made by hand for each occasion and each production. No ready-made stands were normally available for the scenery at nursery or comprehensive schools, etc., and it was difficult to dismantle the scenery and move it to another place. Simple theatre productions of children's plays should allow for three changes of back-drop, preferably taking place behind closed curtains. There should also be spaces hidden from the public, for assistants, actors with costume changes, prompters, etc. Such relatively simple scenery is time-consuming and resource-demanding to produce with conventional props and normal work methods.